Guns, whether firearms used primarily to fire cartridges, air rifles used primarily to fire pellets or BBs, or other designs, sometimes include a detachable barrel and interchangeability with other barrels for the firing of multiple caliber projectiles. However, as aptly indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,797, issued Nov. 23, 1999 to Dustin, “Existing firearm designs which . . . accept a variety of different barrels suffer from a number of deficiencies and impracticalities which render them generally undesirable to consumers and users.” That patent notes deficiencies such as: (1) marring of the barrel caused by engagement of a hardened metal set screw upon the relatively softer metal of the barrel to prevent barrel rotation, (2) unreliable accuracy due to non-coaxial alignment of the barrel and action caused by lateral deflection of the barrel when subjected to side engagement of the set screw on the barrel, and stresses generated upon firing that cause an inner barrel to vibrate at its own resonant frequency and to be displaced in an unpredictable manner within an outer barrel, and (3) difficulty in disassembling the barrel and action due to the high degree of torque required to threadedly lock together the barrel and action. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,797, at col. 1 1. 13 through col. 2, 1. 18.
In addition, for airguns or similar devices that use a “break barrel” design to cock the gun and prepare it to be fired (rather than using gunpowder, for example), the barrel typically is an integral part of the cocking/arming mechanism. A user typically grips the gun's barrel and stock in opposite hands and “cocks” or arms the gun by folding it (using the barrel and stock for leverage). The user then unfolds the gun into its normal linear configuration prior to aiming and firing it. Depending on the gun, this folding/pump action can set an internal spring that, when released by the user squeezing the gun's trigger, provides the air pressure to propel the pellet or other projectile out of the gun. Accordingly, it is counterintuitive to remove the barrel from such a break barrel gun, because without the barrel assembled with the rest of the gun, the user does not have sufficient leverage to “arm” the gun.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and related methods that overcome the above-referenced deficiencies, as well as to provide related benefits in manufacturing, shipping, storage, retail display and handling, etc. Such a system can provide an interchangeable barrel system for use in firing, among other things, multiple caliber projectiles in activities such as shooting an air rifle or firearm, in a relatively more efficient and reliable manner when compared to known guns having interchangeable barrel systems. Such an improved system can provide related safety and economic benefits to final users of the guns.